‘The Rhymical Vein’ was exhibited in the show ‘A Melancholy Anatomy’, Banqiao 435 Art Zone, 2024
‘How can one dissect melancholy? Or perhaps, how might we go about dissection while feeling melancholy ourselves?
In the 1621 first edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Burton drew on every discipline he could—history, philosophy, psychology, medicine, theology, and more—to come up with ways to observe and treat melancholy. In doing so, he created what might be called a "melancholic anatomy." Here, "anatomy" is a metaphor for breaking down and analysing knowledge. Yet over the four centuries since it was first published, the book has been read more often as a literary classic than as a scientific text. Melancholy itself remains an idea we can never fully pin down; dissecting it, in turn, becomes an act coloured by melancholy. Perhaps this is because melancholy comes from our never-ending inability to fully grasp the meaning of life.
Through her creations in this exhibition, Wei-Ling Hung imagines how the language of the body—often so rich with meanings that escape precise words—might be explored through different methods. This exhibition delves into the challenge we face: the human body defies precise interpretation. It cannot be boiled down to a single meaning. Each attempt to probe its mysteries may only provide us with brief, fleeting insights. Melancholy is not necessarily a state of despair; it can also be a gaze patiently awaiting the myriad transformations of things. I feel that I see this quality in the works of Wei-Ling. ’
Curater, Li-kuan Liu